Kowal Investment Group LLC Buys New Shares in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Kowal Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. American National Bank bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of XEL stock opened at $63.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.43. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $65.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 65.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on XEL shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.57.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, purchasing, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass, and solar energy sources, as well as coal, natural gas, oil, wood, and refuse-derived fuels.